Written by Dr. Mark
The other day I was on day 3 of my Suero Cleanse, drinking one of the bottles in front of a friend. So naturally the conversation as to what that is comes up. As I’m explaining it’s a 3 day cleanse where you eat nothing but just drink these, his response was “no way, never, life is too short, if you gave me the option to not eat for 3 days or die, I’d choose death!” I didn’t think much of the comment at the time, I knew he was part exaggerating, part teasing, and I’ve heard this before, especially the life is too short concept. I agree, life here is short, and should be enjoyed.
I’ve thought about what he said for a few days, and I know I’ve struggled with this myself, the idea that food should be good and pleasurable. God made fruit right? My next thought is, if you ask someone that uses cocaine, I’m sure they’d say it’s good and pleasurable too, but as someone that doesn’t use it I can easily say, yeah maybe it is, but the harm it causes you outweighs that good and pleasurable feeling. So can I use that same logic with food? Yes, its good and pleasurable for that moment, but does that outweigh the harm? And is it really a conscious choice or are statements like this really coming from an addiction that we are just unaware of? I’m sure you’ve seen those statements about sugar being just as addictive as cocaine, which I’m not sure how valid a statement that is, but I do know sugar addiction is a very real thing, that if you haven’t ever tried going without it for an extended amount of time, you most likely are addicted to it at some level.
So is the pleasure from food worth it to sacrifice your health? Is life not worth it if you’re not enjoying your food? As someone who has been on both sides of this, No, it is not worth sacrificing your health for that moment of pleasure from food. The truth is also, that health food, Straight 60 food, can get to be just as satisfying. For me it doesn’t start out that way, but with each week those salads become more satisfying. But its frustrating that I know this, and yet I’m tempted to fall back to that other food on almost a daily basis. The addiction is strong!
About my friend I mentioned above, the real frustrating thing is that he also suffers from type 2 diabetes, and has had it for about 16 years, taking medication 3 times a day for it, with little hope of that ever changing. We’ve had people in this situation go through the 60 day turnaround and get off their medication, and I know it would help him in some way. I’ve spoke to him about it before, and he hasn’t shown much interest, so for now I’ll keep my path and lead by example.
So “Eat to live or Live to Eat,” a quote I stole from the movie Over the Hedge, really does sum this up. Do we allow food to be a pleasure drug that we are addicted to, that is harming us little by little each day, taking away from our quality of life, or the best “drug” available to promote health and healing, to feel great and really enjoy what life has to offer?
Eat Well – Dr. Mark